Month: May 2012

Meet me in Saint Louis, Louis..

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 8 Comments

That’s a great song. Written by Sterling and Mills for Judy Garland of course.

Everyone sing!

“Meet me in Saint Louis, Louis..

Meet me at the fair

Don’t tell me the lights are shining any place but there!”

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“We will dance the Hoochee Koochee”

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“I will be your tootsie wootsie!”


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“If you will meet me in St. Louis, Louis,
Meet me at the fair!”

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Alright so I was actually at the Saint Louis Zoo but it was started when the city bought the walk-through birdcage from the 1904 World’s Fair. It’s now a world class zoo and it’s gorgeous. Just the landscaping alone is worth seeing.

And this camel with the bad toupee is worth seeing as well.

“Toupee!” he says in a bad British accent “You cad!”

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Then there was this monkey, a lion maned something or other who apparently thought I was a photographer for a clothing catalog.

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And he told the lemur to pose too. Work it baby, work it!

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This lemur went for the deep look

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This guy just yammered on in a bad New York Yiddish accent

“Oh vey! What do you expect me to pose for, I don’t wear the clothes!”

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And the hippo was as adorable as a 6000 lb animal can be.

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And don’t get me started on how much I love rhinos.

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Being at the zoo reminded me of a painting I had wanted to do for a long time.

I was the Pueblo Zoo in Colorado a few years back. I was watching this goose who was sitting on the ledge of their little river. And this goose refused to move, all the geese kept having to walk around him. Then along came this white goose and a brown goose. Instead of walking around the sitting goose, they stood and watched it, honking softly.

They seemed very perplexed by the sitting goose’s lack of manners. The sitting goose did everything it could not to look at them. It was a very haughty goose and it made me laugh.

This is acrylic, 5×7.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012

Birdstalking Part 2 or How the Catbird Sought Revenge..

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 12 Comments

So.

Hello.

I’m trying to come up with a better opening line that that.

But I’m exhausted.

Tuckered out, you might say. Dog tired, bushwhacked, fatigued, lethargic, pooped even.

I mean downright weary.

Why? Well, let me tell you why…

There’s a catbird living in my tree.

That’s right a catbird, I said. To be specific, a Grey Catbird, also known as the Slate Colored Mockingbird.

For those of who you have never met a catbird, yes, they do meow.

They also cluck and cackle and caw. And they coo and cheep and twitter and peep.

And occasionally they whistle.

But the one thing they never do, the One Thing no catbird would ever dream of, the ONE THING that never ever, in the history of animal kind, a catbird has ever done is to..

SHUT UP!!

They sing in the morning, they sing at night.

They sing in the dark, they sing in the light.

They sing when they’re hungry and happy and sad.

They sing when they’re excited, tense or mad!

(They also make me write like a Dr. Seuss wannabe. That mocking thing is contagious)

So I decided to fix his little red wagon and fry his chestnuts. He was done as dinner.

I turned back to my bird stalking ways. I cleaned my camera lens and it was on..

I tried in vain to get a photo of him with his mouth shut.

But I only managed to get photos of him with his mouth open.

He was singing to the left…

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He was singing to the right..

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Hmmmm… that’s not working…I need help…

Oh Mr Hummingbird, thank you for offering your services. Yes, you stick your tongue out at him.

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Oh dear, Mr Hummingbird. Yes it is awfully hard to mock a mockingbird. They enjoy it, the sickos.

But thank you for trying. I appreciate the effort.

Mr. Cardinal? You have an idea, you say?

You’re going to give him the Awesomely Malevolent Evil Eye as only a Cardinal with a capitol ‘C’ can?

Wonderful..Give it your best shot.

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Hmmm, Nice, but no banana.

Mr Bluejay, You’re going to what!?! Screech it away?

No!! No!! It’s a mockingbird!! For the love of God!!! Don’t teach it how to screech!!

Sorry, beg your pardon, lost my composure for a minute. It really is mimicking you quite well.

Yes that is how you sound, you can sit up in that tree and be as offended as you like but that is the noise that you make.

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So finches? Any ideas?

You’re too busy playing ‘One Finch, Two Finch, Three Finch, Four!’ to help out a friend?

Yes I do realize catbirds chase cats. And dogs. And hawks and sometimes people too.

I also know that it’s been observed that other birds will actually line up and watch them when they are doing so.

It’s true. Everyone loves a show.

Fine, finches, go on with your game.

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I think I know what will do it.

That’s right I called the Great North American White Wookie. It says…

“Arggggg…grrrr…gargle…gargle… arggggg!!!!”

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Nothing? Really?

Well, I guess it’s time to ask the Honorable Zen Master Tree Frog for advice..

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Hold up now. It’s upset you too? The Honorable Zen Master Tree Frog?

The Catbird stole your moves? and your mating calls?

The Nerve! The Gall!  The sheer unadulterated insolence of that Grey Catbird slash Slate Colored Mockingbird!

Dummy! Come quick! The Honorable Zen Master Tree Frog needs you!

That’s a good Dummy, you cheer him up and I will settle this for once and for all.

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Catbird, I didn’t want to have to do this. You left me no choice.

It shouldn’t have come to this but when you push people to extremes they go to…well..extremes.

By the power invested in me as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Clerk, Recorder and Supporting Cast of Birdstalkers Anonymous (Quad Cities, IA/IL Chapter) I call the..

The …

Get ready folks…

The..

Hide the children…

The..

Avert your eyes…

The (and this is the technical name)..

The Dastardly, Heinous, Ghastly, Loathsome, Menacing, Razor Toothed, Jagged Jawed, Mother Nature, that is one mean looking mother but it does have exceptionally pretty eyes for a goose Goose.

We call him Al for short.

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So what do you have to say now Catbird?

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Yea, I thought you’d have nothing to say

Wait a minute..What is that? Humidity? Oh it’s Hot!  I guess it’s time to turn on the Central Air so my house doesn’t turn into an oven. You know when I turn on the Central Air so my house doesn’t turn into an oven, I can’t hear outside.

Never mind, Catbird. Carry on.

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Now I have some peace, I can get back to painting.

This is from a photo in Wetcanvas‘s RIL by Dave Slaughter. Thank you to him for it’s use.

This is acrylic, 4×4 inches and it’s a Mountain Bluebird.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012

Hummmmm….

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 10 Comments

There’s a humming in my ears…

No, no, not the lightning strike, that was a ringing…

This is a definite hum…

hummmmmmmmmmmmmm….

Couldn’t figure it out but then I stumbled into this conversation.

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Two hummingbirds walk into a bar..

Left hummingbird:   “HI!”

Right hummingbird:   “Hello.”

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Left Hummingbird:  “I can make a feather on my head stand up!”

Right Hummingbird:   *blink * *blink*

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Left Hummingbird:   “Try it, Dude!”

Right Hummingbird:  “That’s too weird for me.  I’m outta here.”

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Left Hummingbird:  “Hey! Where you going? Can I have the rest of your drink?..Dude?…”

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Sparrow:  “Was that supposed to be funny?”

Nuthatch:  “I didn’t think so.”

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Hmmm.

Anyway.

Did you know that peacocks can fly?

I didn’t know that until I saw this guy.

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And when peahens sleep they look like they’re dead.

And if you go kick them to see if they’re okay, they bite.

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And sometimes Meerkats act real trampy.

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And my neighbor thinks this sculpture is a lighthouse.

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Don’t look at me like that.

I’m not judging..I’m just saying…

Hey, look at the pretty flower!

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🙂

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012

Come thunder! Come lightning!

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 17 Comments

Mother Nature has been on a roll. Super Moons, fiery sunsets, lightning. You name it, she’s been throwing out the works lately.

The super moon was well..super. Congratulations to whoever came up with the name Super Moon. Job well done. Sure, Super Moon, sounds as if it should be running around dark alleys, rescuing old ladies from purse snatchers and generally giving miscreants some well deserved ass kickings but nevertheless super it was. I did not however see it’s sidekick, Mediocre Meteor, who sadly burned up in the atmosphere causing a ruckus over in Scotland where screams of “We’re being invaded, Laddie!”  were heard from glen to glen and down the mountain side.

Did you know  that last December a guy accidentally drove his Mustang off a 100 foot cliff while watching a meteor shower. Yes, he did. And then he walked away.

Foolishness comes with it’s own airbags.

But I digress, anyway there’s this Super Moon, complete with cape. People, all over the world, gathered to see it and take photos and generally have a good time. As per usual when anything interesting is happening in the sky, Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom covered our area in clouds. I’m starting to think the big M doesn’t much like Illinois.

She did however like Northern New York, where I took this photo in 2005. It was taken with an old digital but it is pretty, no. (That last sentence sounds better if you read it with a french accent.)

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The sky was on fire!

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But this is what I saw of the Super Moon.

*sigh*

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BUT! I fooled her, yes I fooled Mother Nature. Friday night, when the Moon was still quite close to the earth, not a Super Moon but a somewhat impressive moon, it was beautifully clear and I went outside with my camera to play with some filters.

Boo-yah! Mother Nature. That”s right, I said it.

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This is a blue filter.

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This is a sepia filter.

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And this is a Canadian filter.

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That was all fun and good but then a thunder storm came so I decided to try and take some lightning photos.

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Ooooh. Right to the ground….

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A little further off..not terribly clear.

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Time to try my new tripod.

Did I mention that I finally bought a tripod?

Yup, I did and it’s metal and I tried it out in a thunder storm.

Son of a…..

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Mother Nature is  a mite touchy.

And for the record, do not try that at home!

Other then some shakiness, a killer headache and a ringing in my ears which I successfully drowned out listening to Def Leppard really loud, I’m fine.

I decided to take a break from the photo thing and paint this acrylic which is 3×6 and was painted for a challenge in the Miniature Forum on Wetcanvas. The original photo came from Wetcanvas’ reference image library and thanks to PeterH for putting it there.

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.Take care, all!

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 24 Comments

The theme of this week’s WordPress photo challenge is unfocused.

I’m not always terribly focused so I thought this one was a fun one to play..

One day I was trying to take a decent photo of Dummy (my drawing dummy for those who haven’t met him). Now Dummy is addicted to UFO and alien stories. He’s always making me watch UFO Hunters on the history channel and I’ve seen every episode of Star Trek and the Next Generation and the X-Files among many other space or alien shows. I swear, I don’t like them, but he gets snarky if I don’t let him have the remote.

But Dummy he lives in eternal hope that one day he may be abducted by aliens. I’ve tried to explain to him that since he is made out of wood and is only a foot tall, they’d have nowhere to microchip him. But alas and alack, he continues to dream.

I didn’t intentionally set out to make him like an alien creature. But he had no intention of letting me get away with just a nice portrait for the family gallery.

Drawing dummies can be very trying to deal with.

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If you would like  to participate in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge follow this link.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012

Cemeteries and Black Cats…

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 8 Comments

It has been a chilly, gloomy rainy week.

A perfect time to clean the house or closets or..no no that won’t do.

We rarely have long periods of gloom here so in keeping with the atmosphere I have bravely ignored the housework and instead have reflected on our trip to Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Mount Moriah, a cemetery established in Deadwood after the old one filled up, is an interesting place. It’s the final resting place of the some of the most infamous of Westerners. Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Sheriff Bullock and Preacher Smith. It’s been said that Calamity Jane was buried next to Hickok as a rather rude joke as she drove him nuts in real life. The more likely explanation is that interest in the cemetery was waning and they needed a tourist boost. They still charge admission to the cemetery to pay for it’s upkeep.

I had envisioned a much tackier tourist attraction, I mean really who charges admission to a cemetery. Being from Niagara Falls , Canada, I’m a bit of a cynic, tourist attraction wise. I’ve seen many wolves come out to try and fleece the tourists for all they’re worth.  But like much of what we saw in South Dakota, the spirit of the west, the charm and ruggedness of the scenery and the decency of the people overrode any modern attempts to exploit it.  I wish we had taken the time in Niagara Falls to care for, maintain and respect both our natural beauties and history as the people South Dakota have.  Hats off to them.

This is an acrylic miniature (4×6 inches) of a path that leads up to Sheriff Seth Bullock’s grave. The Sheriff, a Rough Rider under Roosevelt was a tough, rugged and fair man. He managed to stabilize the rough lawless town of Deadwood and surprised everyone by doing it without killing anyone.  His grave is up on the mountain, 750 ft above the rest of the cemetery facing Mount Rushmore.

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I took many photographs of Mount Moriah as well. Don’t worry they encourage that, the visitors and admissions pay for the upkeep of this absolutely beautiful resting place.

I don’t normally much like sepia toned photos but I thought it suited these.

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This one appeared to be made of petrified wood.

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Overlooking the mountains.

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Mass grave of the victims of a boarding house fire.

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Wild Bill Hickok.

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Meanwhile back at the ranch..

It’s still raining, both dogs are soaked. Zeus being a lab is impervious to the rain.

But Sampson is soaked and he smells. So I helpfully mentioned a bath might be in order. Sampson hates baths.

And this is his “We are not amused” face.

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Normally we do this little dance. I run the bath. He hides, behind the couch, behind the curtains, or he will continually walk around the dining room table with me in slow pursuit.

Today he upped his little game and instead of hiding he chose to sit behind the one thing that could stop me from bugging him. His biggest fan and protector. Five of her six ends are pointy and she knows how to use them.

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Well played, little dog, well played.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012